Albion Ladies have turned to an England international to help preserve their Premier League status.

The Seagulls won promotion last season after clinching the Southern Division championship, but after just four wins in 12 matches they are in danger of relegation.

Now 23-year-old goalkeeper Layla Young has rejoined the Seagulls to help them beat the drop and fuel her own international aspirations.

Young has returned to play in Sussex after spells in America and, more recently, at Fulham, and the talented young shot-stopper, who played for Brighton as a girl, sees the move as an ideal opportunity to claim the No.1 England jersey from Charlton's Pauline Cope.

Young was second choice keeper behind Jody Smith at Fulham, and although she was earning a wage at Britain's only professional women's club, she felt she had to move for the sake of her career.

Now the Crawley-based keeper has returned to Brighton for first-team football and she is delighted to be playing top flight football for Anthony Reeves' side.

She said: "I spoke to the women's coach of the national side, Hope Powell, and she agreed that I need to be playing with a club like Brighton who are in the Premier League so I can play against the best players in the country.

"We are at the wrong end of the table, but potentially we have a very good side with the new players coming in.

"My first game was at Everton and we won 2-1. It was a great game and we scored in the last minute. We should be able to scrap some results together and stay up.

"If we hold our place in the Premier League the team has potential. We still have to play some of the bottom teams so we have to win those."

Brighton have also signed Emily Arnold and Sarah Wathen from Charlton to help their relegation battle, and Young gave her new team-mates a boost when she admitted relegation would not necessarily lead to her departure.

"If we went down, my future here would depend on my England status," she said. "If I can play for England and Brighton in the Southern Division, then fine."

Young's England prospects look good. She has just returned from the squad's annual winter training camp in Spain and is in the squad for the crucial World Cup qualifier at home to Portugal at Fratton Park tomorrow.

Indeed, the year promises to be an exciting time for the former Thomas Bennett pupil who also hopes to represent her country in the Algarve Cup in the first week of March against the likes of Norway, Sweden and world champions USA.

To date, Young has just one England cap to her name. She made her debut in a 1-0 defeat to France last year when she played the second half in front of 50,000 fans and kept a clean sheet. That experience, which she describes as the highlight of her career, has left her eager for more.

She said: "I've been part of the squad and trained with them for nearly two years. I personally think I am good enough to play for England regularly. The only thing I am lacking is international experience which Pauline has."

Young is enjoying her football again after an unhappy period at Kansas University in the States on a scholarship programme where the team coach eventually refused to speak to her.

She admitted: "Every month I was flying home to train for England and my manager Mark Francis didn't like it."

Young admits she would welcome a move to professionalism among all the country's top clubs rather than just Fulham.

She added: "Because there is only one professional women's team, it is hard for the girls of the other teams to be as fit.

"When I was at Fulham we were beating teams so easily it wasn't fun. Winning 11-0 or 12-0 each week doesn't inspire me but if everyone went full-time it would be great."

It was part of Young's contract with Fulham that players would spend at least five hours a week coaching youngsters and promoting the club.

"We would go around Fulham and Putney and coach in schools. I love to coach and I want to get my coaching badges.

"The reaction was excellent. I imagine it was exciting for the girls we coached, they thought 'I support Fulham and now I can play for the women.'"

After taking up the game at the age of eight in the school playground, Young graduated to Henfield FC, and now the keeper is in a position to give advice.

But she admits she has a couple of senior players to talk to herself. Young is well aquainted with the international duo of Angie Banks and Faye White from Sussex who both play for Arsenal.

"We all get on really well," said Young. "They have both been in the England squad for a few years and always say, when you are there it is harder to stay there, than get in. I'm in now so I have to enjoy it and work hard and hopefully I'll play well."

Kick off tomorrow is 5.30 pm, entry costs just £3 for adults and £1 for under-16s and OAPs. The match is also live on Sky Sports. For more details contact the ticket hotline on 02392 618777.